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Re: White Oak Apiary

I bought 3 queens and a drone frame {drone frame was to get abetter deal if ya spent so much.} anyway the queens where almost 2 month late and that was with many e.mails and phone calls and i never got my drone frame.
The queens 1 lived on and 2 failed .
I now know how to make queens and i never have to buy bees again WHITE OAK can keep there bees!

Re: White Oak Apiary

They are almost impossible to get a hold of, even in the off season. I have heard some good things about their bees... if you can get them. I checked out their BBB rating and it is an F... as in FAILED rating. I am very disappointed and wish that I never wasted my time, effort, energy, & attention with White Oak Apiary.

I understand we are all busy, but they do not even clear their answering machine to leave new messages and they do not respond to emails in any kind of timely fashion.

Very disappointed and I recommend you go elsewhere with your dollars. I am concerned now about how I can contact them for a refund. I might have to file a claim with my credit card company and the BBB against them if I do not hear back.

Re: White Oak Apiary

I ordered two nucs this year. Due to poor weather, they were ready toward the end of June. I think I picked them up around the 22nd or so. There was a bear attack a couple days prior to my scheduled pick-up, so I only got one nuc. I don't consider that his fault, though.

The downside of my experience: He is very difficult to get a hold of, either by phone or email. The nucs are poorly constructed -- lots of gaps in the nuc and loose bees on the drive home. They were a little slow processing my refund for the nuc I didn't get, but I sent them a follow-up email about it, and they did it right away.

The upside: I got a very prolific hive. I have no complaints about the bees themselves. In fact, I was quite pleased with them.

Re: White Oak Apiary

I ordered a nuc from White Oak back in December for my first hive. I did an internet search on them after I placed the order and became very nervous about the whole deal.

I also ordered a couple of packages a couple of months later from someone else which cost the same for both packages as it did for the 1 nuc when I include shipping.

The packages arrived in March.

The nuc was suppose to arrive late May/early June. I finally got notice that it shipped mid-July. I got nothing. I was finally informed that the nuc was lost in the mail in August. I got a refund in September. Communication was almost non-existent. I was happy just to be clear of the deal.

Re: White Oak Apiary

Originally Posted by Acebird

How does someone continue to sell bees if they don't communicate with there customers?

This thread made me curious. I did another search on them and their web site is down. It also looks like their facebook page is empty. I guess the answer to that question is they can't. I was probably very lucky to get my money out of the deal.

Re: White Oak Apiary

Originally Posted by cblakely

This thread made me curious. I did another search on them and their web site is down. It also looks like their facebook page is empty. I guess the answer to that question is they can't. I was probably very lucky to get my money out of the deal.

Hi:

Website is up now and sounds too good to be true
. I am concerned with previous complaints about lack of quality and/or communication. Has anyone purchased from them recently? If so, what are your experiences? I really want to find a place to purchase northern bred nucs and was hoping this would be a good place since I live in Boston area. Does anyone know another place in the Northeast to purchase northern bred nucs?

Re: White Oak Apiary

Re: White Oak Apiary

Originally Posted by igep

Hi:

Website is up now and sounds too good to be true
. I am concerned with previous complaints about lack of quality and/or communication. Has anyone purchased from them recently? If so, what are your experiences? I really want to find a place to purchase northern bred nucs and was hoping this would be a good place since I live in Boston area. Does anyone know another place in the Northeast to purchase northern bred nucs?

I ordered two packages from Sam Comfort of Anarchy Apiaries in NY this year. Unfortunately, he is sold out at this time, but he may be able to give you a recommendation for another beek. Last year, I was too late, but I got a recommendation for northern-bred bees from a guy in Vermont from him. It might be worth an email to him at: anarchyapiaries@hotmail.com

Are you looking for packages or nucs? If you are looking for nucs, I believe that Full Bloom Apiaries in CT has northern-bred bees. I have not purchased from them, but I have spoken with the guy who owns it, and he seems both very nice and responsive. http://www.fullbloomapiaries.com/

Also, recently, an acquaintance of mine ordered northern-bred nucs from a guy associated with the Eastern Connecticut Beekeepers Association. I don't remember his contact off-hand, but I can look into it if you like.

Re: White Oak Apiary

I did not have a good experience with Mike Bruen At White Oak Apiary. I pre-ordered 4 queens for May pickup and my many requests to collect the queens have gone unanswered in June. I have had to contact PayPal and my credit card company to have my money returned.